www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, June 16, 2016 | 34 Leaders hit the court at the YMCA Chartwell Open House EXPLORE THE NEXT CHAPTER IN YOUR LIFE! Since Aurel moved into his Chartwell residence, he and his daughter Maja have transitioned from worry and concern about household responsibilities to spending more quality time together, including lots of family time for children, grandchildren and a new great grandchild. If you want to learn more about the benefits of retirement living, our Open House can help answer your questions. CHARTWELL.COM by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver OPEN HOUSE June 18 & 25 10 AM - 2 PM The YMCA of Oakville wants to give youths a head start in life, which is why it's supporting a new regional leadership program. The Halton Sport Leadership Program (HSLP) is a collaborative, asset-based development initiative that focuses on providing lowincome and at-promise youth with opportunities to develop leadership skills and earn sports and recreation certificates for employment opportunities. The six-month program, provided free-of-charge, is a joint effort between the Oakville YMCA, Halton's public and Catholic school boards, Halton Poverty Roundtable and the Town of Oakville. On Thursday (June 9), a graduation ceremony was held at the Y's Rebecca Street branch for 11 youths in this year's program, which included students from T.A. Blakelock High School, White Oaks Secondary School (WOSS) and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School. Several representatives from community group partners were in attendance. "Without the partnerships, without all the players believing in youth and the opportunities this can give them, I don't think we would be as successful. With everybody pitching in, it helps drive the success of the program further," said Teresa Rinaldi, YMCA of Oakville manager of community initiatives. The program is aimed at helping youths aged 15-18 acquire new skills and gain Niya Williams, left, a mentor of the Halton Sport Leadership Program, playfully distracts Shawn Thomas, right, a youth officer of the Halton Regional Police basketball team during the June 4 Halton Sport Leadership vs. Halton Regional Police Service basketball tournament at the Peter Gilgan YMCA of Oakville. | photo by Noak Park - special to the Beaver confidence to pursue a postsecondary education, find a career path and give back to the community. "The Halton Poverty Roundtable really wanted to address youth unemployment issues. The school boards wanted to address turning the curb," said Rinaldi. "We took a look at various programs and studied the success of the Toronto Sport Leadership Program. We replicated it in Halton." With its collaborators, the Oakville Y currently works with three local high schools -- T.A. Blakelock, WOSS and St. Thomas Aquinas -- which identified students who would benefit most from HSLP , Rinaldi said. "These are kids who, for whatever reason, may be struggling in school. There could be financial barriers. When we look at youth and how we want to develop youth, this program really addresses their unique needs," said Rinaldi. "A lot of these kids are coming into the program with a unique story to tell and we're see YMCA on p.46 $700 OFF HI-EFFICIENCY CENTRAL AIR $ AIRE ONE MADNEss sAlE! /mTH OAC* 29 180 Oak Park Blvd. Oakville IN I.E.S.O. REbATE* $400 up TO NOW $ Make us part of your story. 1990 Was *Call for details $ 2690 Up to 6 months no payments, no interest. o.a.C.* * HI-EffICIENCy AIR CONDITIONERS · 10 Year Factory Warranty 289-644-2960 Conditions may apply. CALL NOW, QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED! 9 Locations to serve you better Heating & Cooling www.aireone.com A+ RATING 905-849-4998 1-888-827-2665